


Last Minute Decorations

by squidgie



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas Fluff, First Kiss, First Time, M/M, SGA Secret Santa Fic Exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-22 19:52:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13174023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squidgie/pseuds/squidgie
Summary: Rodney McKay was a busy man.  As the head of Pegasus Dynamics, a small aerospace consulting company, he had meetings to hold, employees to manage, and because Pegasus was behind in their latest project proposal, he also had actual work to do.  Not enough to challenge his dual PhDs, but busywork nonetheless.  So it was beyond his comprehension as to why he was charged with getting a Christmas tree for the office.





	Last Minute Decorations

**Author's Note:**

  * For [writerdragonfly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/writerdragonfly/gifts).



> Written for the SGA Santa celebration 2017 for wdf_puppet (writerdragonfly). I hope you like it! Mucho thanks to siennavie for the quick beta!

Rodney McKay was a busy man.  As the head of Pegasus Dynamics, a small aerospace consulting company, he had meetings to hold, employees to manage, and because Pegasus was behind in their latest project proposal, he also had _actual_ work to do.  Not enough to challenge his dual PhDs, but busywork nonetheless.  So it was beyond his comprehension as to why he was charged with getting a Christmas tree for the office.  It had been a compromise – one that he didn’t remember agreeing to – that his second in command, Radek, had pretty much ordered.  Radek and his team would finish up the presentation that Rodney was slated to give to Weir Industries, and Rodney would pick up the final bits of items for the company’s small headquarters.  Truth be told, Rodney figured it was probably Laura Cadman’s doing; she and Radek were devious when they got together, which usually ended up with Rodney doing things outside of his comfort zone.  But with Cadman working the project timeline with the scientists, that left Rodney to do “other things.”  And that, apparently, included chasing down a Christmas tree at 7:30 am three days before Christmas.  He’d meant to get something the night previous, but he’d fallen asleep at his desk and rushed out of the building at 2 am when the cleaning crew made their noisy entrance to the department.

As he drove his SUV through the snowy streets of Denver, Rodney glanced at each corner, trying to find a stand that was open.  He’d driven for twenty minutes before spotting a coffee shop.  It wasn’t his usual, but it would do, so he pulled in and climbed out, cursing as his shoes slipped on the ice.

“Whoa there!” came a voice out of nowhere, and Rodney found his hand clenched by thick glove-covered fingers, and another hand at his back.  It took him a second to orient himself, and then another to look at the person who had just saved him.  It was a handsome man, with playful hazel eyes and pointed elfin ears jutting out from under a Santa hat.  “You okay, buddy?” came the concerned voice as Rodney regained his footing.

Rodney took a second to pull his jacket down and nod to the man with lightning reflexes.  He opened his mouth to say thank you, but the smile on the handsome man’s face caused him to fluster.  “Yes.  With the-”  Rodney willed his mouth shut, and his eyes to stop raking over the attractive man’s build.  Though he was in gloves and a Santa hat, the handsome stranger wasn’t Winter-weather ready.  Instead, he wore black boots, a pair of black jeans that were too distractingly snug in the area Rodney tried not to stare at, and a white dress shirt that stretched at the biceps.  The man’s collar was loose, a festive holiday tie framing creamy flesh that Rodney suddenly wanted to lick.

Rodney took a deep breath to center himself, then held out his hand in his most professional manner, then said, “Hot.”  His eyes went wide.  “I mean thanks.  _Thank you_.”  His hands went to his face, and he muttered “Oh my god,” as the attractive man’s hands withdrew from where they held Rodney. 

After a second, Rodney parted his fingers and said, “I’m so sorry,” out loud while thinking ‘I _so_ need to get laid,’ silently in his head.  And then just to be safe, he looked at the stranger’s face to make sure he got those right; Rodney sometimes had a way of saying what he was thinking and thinking what he was saying - especially if he was talking to someone attractive.  It was the only bad thing about being bisexual, Rodney had decided years before.

“You okay?  Do you need anything?” asked the man.

“Coffee,” Rodney said with a bashful smile as he pointed to the bustling coffee shop.  He then looked at his companion and noticed the truck parked behind him.  He focused mostly on the multiple trees that were in the back of the man’s truck and suddenly remembered his mission.  “Oh god, and a tree!  I have to buy a tree for my office.  You run a tree lot around here?  Where is it?”  Rodney hadn’t seen any other Christmas trees when he pulled into the parking lot.

“Not really,” the guy replied as he glanced back at the trees, then again to Rodney.  “I have a few for—”

“Let me buy one,” Rodney interrupted.  “I mean seriously.  You’ve practically got an entire forest in there.  You can’t possibly need them all.”  Rodney pulled out his wallet and produced a wad of cash.  “Seriously.  I was supposed to do it last night, but I fell asleep at my desk, and you’re-”  Rodney stopped himself before his dick could derail his brain again.  Holding out the cash, he asked, “How much?”

“Tell you what,” the handsome stranger said.  “Since it’s Christmas, you can have one.  I’ve got a couple extra because…”  The man’s voice trailed off as Rodney shoved the money at him once again.  “Seriously, it’s okay,” he said as he walked to the bed of his truck.  He started to lift one out, then looked at Rodney.  “Do you want to pick?  Or…”

Rodney shook his head.  “Your choice is fine,” he said.  As the stranger pulled a tree from the bed of his truck, Rodney pointed to the coffee shop.  “Can I at least buy you a coffee then, Mister…”

“John,” came the reply.  “Just call me John.”  He settled the tree on the ice-covered pavement next to Rodney’s car.  “You got any twine or anything?  Or you just want to pop the gate and let me put it inside?”

“Oh, inside is fine,” he said.  “Here,” he said as he handed over his keys to a complete stranger without a second thought.  Rodney figured that this John person was too attractive to be a criminal, and then suddenly had repeats of the show _White Collar_ run through his head – specifically the all-too-attractive main character Neal Caffrey.  He shoved away the thoughts and asked, “What can I get you?”

“Mocha chai,” John replied as he leaned in and pushed down the back seats.

Rodney was momentarily distracted by John’s lean body as it stretched to reach the back seats, and even more distracted when John’s shirt came up, and a bit of flesh came into view over a hip that was decidedly absent of underwear.  Images of a delightfully naked John instantly bounced through his head, but he came back to himself a second later when the drink request turned over in his head.  “Chai?” he asked.

“ _Mocha_ chai,” John repeated as he again leaned into the back of the SUV.  “Aiden’s working.  Just tell him it’s for John; he knows how I like it.”

Rodney was again stopped by thoughts of what else John may like but didn’t let his brain get bogged down.  “But that’s not coffee.”

“Look, _you offered_ ,” John said as he stood back up and crossed his arms.  Rodney then watched as John’s deft fingers emerged from the glove to stuff his shirt back into the waist of his jeans.

“Right.  Right.  Sorry!” Rodney replied, and then scurried into the shop.  He got in line and silently begged for John to steal his car.  At least that way Rodney wouldn’t have to face him again after practically molesting him, then questioned his taste in morning beverages.

As luck would have it, Rodney’s order was quick.  It didn’t take long for his giant cup of dark roast, John’s chai already made.  He walked back outside and found John clicking the button, the back gate of Rodney’s SUV lowering.  “Here,” he said as he handed over the cup of tea.  “And thank you.”

“Welcome,” John said, then took a sip of his drink.  “You’re kind of a trip; you know that?”  John smiled at him, and Rodney admired the laugh lines that crinkled at John’s temple; the imperfection somehow made him even more attractive.  But then the meaning behind John’s words hit him, and Rodney’s thoughts went dark.

“So I’ve been told,” Rodney muttered.

“Hey, that’s not a bad thing,” John replied.  “It’s not usual that someone can keep me on my toes.”

Rodney smiled weakly, and then raised his coffee cup.  John handed him back his keys, then lifted his own cup.  “What’s your name, by the way?”

“Rodney,” he replied.  Rodney wasn’t good at reading people’s emotions, but he decided to risk it.  “Hey, umm…  You can say no because I know it’s the holidays and people are super busy this time of year. You know, with parties and work, and year-end stuff.  But if you’re, you know, not doing anything sometime, and you’d like to maybe do something-”  Rodney squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath.  ‘This shouldn’t really be that hard,’ he thought.  He opened his eyes and locked his gaze onto John’s and blurted as quick as he could, “You maybe wanna go get a coffee or something sometime?”  As soon as the last syllable left his lips, he squeezed his eyes shut, as if he were a condemned man standing in front of a firing squad instead of an attractive man that just gave him a Christmas tree.

One beat passed, then a second.  But just as Rodney opened his eyes, he felt fingers clasp his shoulder.  “I’d like that,” John replied as Rodney again focused on John’s hazel eyes.  “Here,” John said.  He pulled out his wallet and a pen and wrote his name and number on the back of a card.  “Call me, okay?” John said, his voice sounding sincere.

Rodney tucked the card into his pocket, rolled back on his heels, and almost slipped again.  In a way, he wanted to if it meant John would catch him again.  “I will,” he said.

The pair stood silent for a moment until John raised his thumb over his shoulder.  “I gotta,” he said, then bobbed his head to his truck.

Rodney nodded, looked at the time, then came out of his reverie.  He still had to get the tree to the office, pick up Radek and the presentation, and make it over to Weir Industries before 9 am.  “Oh god,” he said, then practically jumped into his car.  He was nice and let John pull out of the parking lot first, then turned and headed for the office as quickly as traffic allowed.

~*~*~

With the tree dropped off, Rodney quickly went over the presentation with Radek, and then they both climbed into Rodney’s SUV.  They made quick time across town and parked, then made their way into the lobby.  Weir Industries occupied one of the most massive buildings in downtown Denver.  As soon as they entered, Rodney looked up and almost got dizzy at the height.  And though it was close to Christmas, Rodney noted that there were five mostly-bare Christmas trees where activity buzzed; half a dozen people were decorating each tree, but one person, in particular, caught his eye.  Even though the Santa hat had been abandoned, he recognized not only the ears but the same pair of distractingly tight black jeans that had captured his imagination earlier that morning.  “John?” he called.

John looked up, a bright smile instantly crossing his face.  “Rodney?”

“Doctor McKay?  Doctor Zelenka?” came a third voice.  Both John and Rodney looked, a diplomatic woman in a suit walking their direction.  “I thought that was you two.  Welcome to Weir Industries.  I’m Elizabeth Weir.”  She turned her eyes to John, shook her head fondly, then said, “John, would you leave that to the interns?  I want you to come meet-”

“Wait,” John said as he jogged up next to the trio.  “ _You’re_ Doctor Rodney McKay?” he asked.

“John?” Rodney asked.

“Wait, do you know each other?” Elizabeth finally asked.

Rodney was acutely aware that while he and John were glancing at each other, trying to figure out the situation, they both were being studied by Weir and Zelenka.  He pulled off a glove and fished out the card that John had given him earlier.  He saw John’s name and number scribbled in pen, then turned it over where he found ‘John Sheppard, M.E. – VP North American Operations’ under the Weir Industries logo.  “I, uhh,” he started.

“Kinda, yeah,” John said with a wink, then gently butted Rodney’s shoulder with his own.  “We kinda do.”

“We have the Boardroom setup for our meeting,” Elizabeth said, then gestured towards two giant wooden doors.  “I’ll take Doctor Zelenka in and get settled if you two would like a few minutes to get reacquainted.”  She smiled at John. “Doctor McKay looks like he could use a cup of coffee,” she said. 

With a nod, Weir and Zelenka were off to the conference room as John put his fingertips at Rodney’s elbow.  “Coffee?” he asked.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Rodney said.  He stopped—not caring that they were in the middle of the lobby—and looked John up and down. “I thought you were, like, a handyman or deliveryman.

Oh Jesus, I almost asked you if you or someone you knew could detail my car to get rid of all those stupid pine needles.”

John just smiled.  “You’re _definitely_ a trip,” he said, then pulled Rodney to a nearby break room where they could get coffee.

“Oh thank god,” Rodney said as he spotted three different carafes of coffee.  He immediately went for the darkest blend, then turned to John to ask if he wanted one. 

By way of answer, John raised a cup of hot tea with a smile.  “Shall we?” he asked, then turned to the door.

“Wait!” Rodney said, his voice a little too loud, a little more desperate than he wanted.  When John turned back, Rodney was almost too ashamed to ask, “Does this mean we can’t…You know,” he said.

“It’s just a cup of coffee,” John said as he set his cup down.  He then reached for Rodney’s cup and placed it on the counter next to his own, then stepped closer to Rodney. “Unless there’s maybe more,” he said as he reached for Rodney’s hand.

Rodney squeezed John’s hand in his own, then took a chance.  He leaned forward, John meeting him halfway, and they kissed.  Chaste at first, just a hint of tongue with promises of something much, much dirtier in the future.  “Maybe, yeah,” Rodney whispered against John’s lips.

“Cool,” John replied, then pulled Rodney towards the conference room.  “But you get to explain to my boss why I have to recuse myself from the selection process.”

Rodney smiled as he considered it.  A five-minute conversation with John’s boss for the potential of dating John?  Maybe more?  Rodney figured that was a pretty good trade.


End file.
